St Mirren full-back David van Zanten will draw on memories of dramatic battle
against relegation in 2007 as club seek crucial points against Partick
Thistle on Friday

St Mirren have been in the top tier for the last eight seasons but full-back David van Zanten, the only survivor from the promotion-winning side of 2006, will draw on the memories of that first campaign in the then SPL as the club attempts to retain its Premiership status.

Back then, they were locked in a two-horse race for survival with Dunfermline, a scrap which was settled in dramatic fashion on the penultimate weekend. Two successive wins have lifted the current team three points clear of second-bottom Ross County but on Friday they visit Partick Thistle, one of four other clubs attempting to escape the play-offs.

For Van Zanten, though, the threat of demotion is nothing new. “I went through this in 2007,” said Van Zanten. “We went to Motherwell on the second-last day and, again, came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

“However, after Ross McCormack scored their second goal we knew –due to the reaction of the supporters – that Dunfermline were beating Inverness. That was just after half-time and we had conceded a penalty to give them their second goal.

“We feared the worst at that stage but we produced a stirring comeback and, at the same time, Dunfermline went on to lose and that meant that they went down instead of us.

“It was unbelievably dramatic. I just remember standing on the pitch after the final whistle and waiting for word to come through from Inverness. When I heard the score from that game I wasn’t even happy, it was more relief than anything else, although we were obviously delighted to stay up.”

Victory on Friday would ease their fears of demotion but Van Zanten is aware that nothing can be taken for granted. “We won 3-0 at their place in November but, being honest, the scoreline flattered us a little because they had chances to get something from the game,” he said.

“It’s a test of nerves as much as anything now. Everybody needs to stand up and be counted at this stage of the season.

“We know we’re in a battle and Partick will be well aware of that too.Every game will be like that now and it’s just a matter of rolling our sleeves up and getting the points.

“They’re coming here on the back of a great result at Kilmarnock but there will be more twists and turns before it’s all sorted.

“From our point of view, it would be nice to wake up on Saturday morning having had a win, knowing that we’ve done our job and not having to rely on anyone else for favours.

“Then we can sit and watch Jeff Stelling and see how the others cope with the pressure. I’ve been in this situation before and a few of the others have too so we’ll be passing on bits of advice to the younger lads as to how to deal with it.

“We’ve responded well recently by getting good results, particularly coming back to win after being 2-0 down to a good Motherwell team.

“The fact we managed to do that shows you the character there is in our dressing room. That should stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

The Irishman is one of several players out of contract in the summer and the desire to remain with the club is all the motivation they need to stay up.

“That’s it, he said. “We’re playing for our futures now. Some of the boys have young families and that’s who you play for - that is your motivation in football.